LAS VEGAS – Melvin Guillard (28-8-2 MMA, 10-4 UFC) wants a shot at the UFC lightweight title more than you can possibly imagine.

Guillard’s desire to wrap that gold around his waist runs so deep, he’s willing to fight both teammates and family if that’s what it takes to cement his legacy.

But despite an emphatic win at this past weekend’s UFC 132 event, Guillard doesn’t have a clear road to the top. The 155-pound division is stacked deep with contenders. No matter, says Guillard. Bring ‘em on. He’s already the best in the world – with or without the belt to prove it.

“I am the best 155-pounder,” Guillard told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I’m a finisher. No disrespect to Frankie Edgar or Gray Maynard, but they proved it in the last fight when they fought each other. Gray had him on his heels and didn’t finish. I’m a finisher. I go in for the kill. I smell blood.

“I guess you could say I’ve been through so much in my life, getting in the cage and swinging hands and putting people away, that’s easy for me. Growing up with a mother that was a Baptist minister whipping me all the time, that’s the stuff I’m afraid of. I can get in there and throw hands with anybody. It’s just all about the organization and the bosses giving me my opportunity.”

Just two short years ago, that opportunity seemed so far away. Still dealing with the repair of his reputation following a failed 2007 drug screen due to cocaine use, Guillard was mired in a 3-3 stretch that was highlighted by flashes of brilliance but marred by questionable decisions both in and out of the cage.

UFC president Dana White said it saddened him to watch Guillard’s potential go unfulfilled for so long.

“I’ve known Melvin for a long time, since ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and I always thought he was a very talented guy and just never lived up to his potential,” White said. “He was out there not doing all the right things to become the great fighter that he had the potential to be.”

But following a September 2009 loss to Nate Diaz, Guillard began to work under the tutelage of famed trainer Greg Jackson. He also focused on the priorities of his personal life, making drastic changes in order to better his professional career.

“I just had to grow up,” Guillard admitted. “Like Dana said, when he first met me on ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ I was just a young kid. I’ve grown with this business for the last six years, and it’s been great. I’ve had a lot of down times, but a lot of people stuck in my corner – Mr. Joe Silva, Dana, himself, Mr. Lorenzo (Fertitta). I always go back and think about when Dana told me, ‘Kid, get your [expletive] together, and you can be great.’ I did. I put myself in rehab and got my [expletive] together.

“I’ve got a beautiful wife. I’m more of a family man now. I’m not hanging out in the streets. I play more golf in the daytime than I see nightlife now. It wasn’t like that. I was always in clubs. I don’t even go out anymore. I go to dinner with the wife, and I do movies. I’m doing the family thing.”

But as genteel as Guillard’s life appears to be outside of the octagon, it’s nothing but violent when the cage door is closed behind him.

Guillard is currently riding a five-fight win streak that includes brutal destructions of Shane Roller, Evan Dunham and Waylon Lowe, as well as hard-fought decision wins over Jeremy Stephens and Ronnys Torres.

Just 28 years old and with nearly 40 documented fights to his credit, Guillard’s mission is clear.

“The UFC is by far the biggest sport in the world to me, and I’m happy to be a part of this,” Guillard said. “I always tell myself that I would hate for a kid to walk up to me and say, ‘Hey, when’s your next UFC fight?’ and I’m no longer in the UFC. That’s why I work so hard to fight to stay in. I’m in, and nobody is going to take my position.

“I’m going to just keep knocking guys out until I get a title shot.”

Guillard said he’d like to fight top-ranked 155-pounder Jim Miller next, but Miller is currently booked to face former WEC champ Ben Henderson in August. Guillard also welcomes a rematch with fellow UFC 132 winner Dennis Siver, but the UFC has yet to make a decision on “The Young Assassin’s” next foe.

Some MMA fans and pundits have pointed to a potential matchup with Guillard and his teammate, Clay Guida. Guillard admits he won’t shy away from that fight if it’s made, but only if the UFC title is on the line. At that point, all loyalties go out the window.

“The only way I would fight a teammate is for the title,” Guillard said. “At the end of the day, we all have this understanding. I’m not going to fight my teammate for nothing when there’s all these [lightweights]. It just doesn’t make sense to me. But we’re all in here for one thing.

“I want to have a kid one day, and I tell my kid, ‘Your dad would have been a great champion, but I let Clay Guida have my spot.’ I can’t live like that. That will ruin my legacy.

“We’re all here for one reason. This is business. I’ll fight my brother for that UFC title. I’ll fight my mother for that UFC title. I mean that, and that’s from the heart. When that time comes and I have to fight a teammate, we have to sort out how we’re going to do the training camps, but may the best man win. I will be the better man that day.”

Until that day comes, White said it’s simply refreshing to see Guillard living up to what he’s always had the ability to be: scary.

“It’s good to see him living up to the potential,” White said. “He is fast. He’s explosive. He’s talented. He’s got great wrestling. He’s got dynamite in both hands. He can kick. He can move. He’s a scary 155-pounder.”

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